Tag: FEMR

The FICC Markets Standards Board (FMSB) has published the final version of its Statement of Good Practice (SGP) on Suspicious Transaction and Order Reporting.The FMSB is an independent body set up by market practitioners to try and improve standards of conduct in wholesale FICC markets. It aims to bring transparency to grey areas in the wholesale FICC markets by identifying emerging vulnerabilities, clarifying and documenting practice and agreeing standards to improve conduct and market behaviour. Setting up the FMSB was one of the main recommendations to emerge from the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR), which was conducted by HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

In a speech delivered today to the FICC Markets Standards Board (FMSB) in London, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England (BoE), expressed optimism that new measures aimed at preventing misconduct in the FICC markets are having a significant impact.

These measures, set out two-and-a-half years ago in the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR), are designed to improve confidence in FICC markets after a series of scandals.

“Multiple factors contributed to a tide of ethical drift in FICC markets. Market standards were poorly understood, often ignored and always lacked teeth. Too many participants neither felt responsible for the system nor recognised the full impact of their actions. Bad behaviour went unchecked, proliferated and eventually became the norm,” noted Carney in his speech.

The UK’s FICC Markets Standard Board (FMSB) has issued its 2017 Annual Report setting out the progress it has made to enhance standards of behaviour in the wholesale fixed income, currencies and commodities markets.
FMSB was established in 2015 following the recommendations of the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR), which was conducted by the Bank of England, the UK Treasury and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.
FMSB says it has achieved “significant momentum and has received strong support from market participants and public authorities”.

Outgoing deputy governor of the Bank of England, Manouque Shafik has called for a move from what she terms “an ethical drift” to an “ethical lift”.
Speaking at the New York Fed conference on conduct and behaviour, Shafik accepted that misconduct in financial markets is nothing new, but argued the wave of misconduct which has emerged in the aftermath of the financial crisis is different. She highlighted the benefits of the UK’s blend of “hard law” and “soft law” when establishing a compliance framework.

The past year has seen “significant progress” in the implementation of the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR) recommendations; however, “the job is far from being done” as a “lack of trust in financial markets” remains and the focus is now on companies and individuals to address issues, according to an implementation report issued today […]